Pages

Monday, 20 November 2017

Simple Ways To Drastically Increase The Value Of Your Home

Giving
your home a makeover every now and again keeps things looking fresh
and stops you from getting bored of the same old decor, but it has
other benefits. If you ever come to sell your house, any improvements
that you’ve done will add value to the house. You should view your
home as an investment that you can build on by making improvements
over the years. Some of the
basic improvementsthat
you make will make the place look better but they won’t increase
the value that much.

If
you’re serious about investing in your house for the future you
need to make some more drastic changes. It’ll cost you upfront, but
you’ll see a return should you ever remortgage or sell the house
down the line. These are some of the best renovations to go for.

Loft
Conversion

Adding
valuable space to the house is one of the easiest ways to boost that
price. However, you might not always be able to get the right
permissions to build a brand new extension and it’s a costly job
even if you do. The
loft conversionis
a great alternative that still brings the same benefits but it’s
cheaper and less invasive. You can easily add an extra bedroom and
bathroom to the property and I’m sure you know how much price
difference that can make. It’s also a good option for families that
have teenage kids that might want a bit more personal space. You’ll
need to have somebody come in and check whether the supports are
sturdy enough to support a loft extension and bolster them if they
aren’t. It’ll cost you somewhere in the region of $20,000 but it
will add around double that to the value of the house.

Basement
Conversion

If
the loft conversion isn’t viable, what
about the basement?Basements
are often problem areas when you’re trying to sell a house because
most of the time they end up being dingy rooms used for storage. They
don’t look particularly attractive and in the eyes of a potential
buyer, it’s just wasted space. They don’t want to have to spend
time turning it into something useful, but if you do it for them,
they’re more likely to buy. How easy it is to do depends on the
state of your basement. If it’s freezing cold and damp down there,
you’ve got a big job on your hands. However, if it’s in fairly
good condition and well heated, you can put some more insulation on
the walls and decorate it well and you’ve got an extra bedroom. If
you don’t want to turn it into a bedroom you can try turning it
into a home office or a gym area. Either way, the extra space will
boost the value of your property significantly.

Garage
Conversion

Like
basements, a lot of garages end up being used for storing junk. You
probably don’t need any of that stuff so why not clear it all out
and turn
the space into something else?The
main issue that you’re going to run into is insulation. It’s
going to be cold down there but if you put in plasterboard walls over
some solid insulation and then hook up some heating, you can make it
a viable living space. It’ll cost you about $10,000 in total so
it’s a cheaper option than the other two.

Conservatory

A
conservatory is a very popular feature on a home and the zoning laws
around building them aren’t as strict as a full extension. You can
also get one for as little as $5000 in some cases, however, they do
range all the way up to about $30,000. The biggest mistake that
people make when they’re putting on a conservatory is making it
look separate to the rest of the house. Then potential buyers often
see it as more of an outbuilding than a larger part of the house
itself. When you’re designing it, always make sure that youkeep
the aestheticclose
to the rest of the house. Have it open up into the other downstairs
living space and run the same flooring through both to tie them
together.

These
are some of the more expensive options but don’t worry if you can’t
afford to make huge changes like that, there are still plenty of
smaller bits you can do.

Garage
Doors

Security
is one of the biggest concerns that potential buyers have. If your
house is easy to break into, people are going to be seriously put
off. People often remember to reinforce most of the doors but neglect
the garage, which is why thieves will often target houses with old
garage doors. If you get some good quality residential
garage doorsfitted,
you protect your property from the risk of burglary and you increase
its value at the same time. They don’t cost much to get put in but
they’ll make a big difference when it comes time to sell.

Pave
Over The Lawn

If
your house doesn’t have a garage and there is only space for
parking on the road, that has a big impact on the price. Having a
nice garden does add value but people
are usually more concerned about having a good parking space.
It might be better to pave over an area of the garden to make a
parking space. Make sure to keep some of the flowerbeds in there so
you get the best of both worlds.

Curb
appealis
a common real estate term that refers to the impression that a buyer
has of your house when they first approach the front of it. Anything
on the front of the house or in the garden has an effect on curb
appeal so go and stand outside your house and have a good look. If
you can see anything that you think looks a bit scruffy, fix it up.
The garden is an important one. People don’t want to buy a house
that they’re going to have to spend ages working on before it’s
nice. If they turn up and see a garden that’s overgrown, that’s
an immediate red flag. Always keep it well kept and use plants that
don’t need too much maintenance, that way it’ll always be in good
condition.

A
flaking paint job on the outside of the house is also bad news. As
soon as somebody sees that, they make an assumption about you. They
assume that you don’t spend much time keeping the house well
decorated. That means they have a bad impression of the house before
they’ve even walked through the front door. It’s cheap and easy
to repaint the front of the house and the door yourself and it’ll
massively increase your chances of selling.

Windows

Another
big concern that people have is energy efficiency. With energy prices
constantly rising, buyers are increasingly looking for houses based
on their running costs. A poorly insulated house that is expensive to
heat is going to struggle to sell. If the walls themselves are badly
insulated, that’s something that you’re just going to have to
live with, unless you want to make incredibly costly structural
changes. However, you can improve the situation a lot by replacing
the windows. If you’ve got old single glazed wooden or metal
windows on the house they’ll let out a lot of heat. Replacing them
with double glazed PVC ones isn’t that expensive and it’ll bring
those energy bills down drastically. Even if you aren’t thinking of
selling anytime soon, it’ll still save you a lot of money.

Having
said that, you’ve got to be careful. If the property is an older
one, that traditional aesthetic is a big selling point. If for
example, you put PVC windows in an old Victorian property, you’ll
lose a lot of that charm. When you’re considering replacing the
windows, always think about whether they’ll fit with the rest of
the property.

If
your budget is limited and you can only afford to make changes in one
or two rooms, always
go for the kitchen.
In rooms like the lounge you can make big improvements by changing
some of the furniture and giving it a quick coat of paint, but an
outdated or poorly laid out kitchen is harder to get around. It’s
the central focus of most homes these days and one of the first
things that a potential buyer will look at. Any old appliances should
be replaced and you need to look at how much storage space you’ve
got. Think about how a family would use the kitchen and design it
accordingly, with easy access to everything from the centre. Always
pay a bit more for the latest appliances, otherwise, they might be
outdated in a few years when you decide that you want to sell the
place.

Even
making a few of these simple changes will increase the value of your
house in a big way. It’s an investment for the future and it will
always pay off.